How to Improve Safety at Home for a Senior with Dementia

Dealing with the effects and the signs and symptoms of dementia, which can include Alzheimer’s, can cause an extreme amount of anxiety and stress for loved ones. They want their aging family member to be safe at home, but what does that mean, exactly?

Senior Home Safety in Wind Gap PA: Safety for Seniors with Dementia

Improving safety for somebody with dementia may require around-the-clock care.

If somebody has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, for example, their memory loss will become more significant as the years progress. With each passing year, it might become more readily apparent that he or she gets disoriented easily. If they are still taking care of themselves with only minimal assistance from a spouse, adult child, or even a friend, and they decide to go out for a walk one afternoon, what happens if they get disoriented?

They can become lost and under extreme weather conditions, it can become a life-threatening situation quickly.

So, what’s the solution?

Some people believe that putting deadbolts on the doors that require keyed access is an easy solution, but is that really going to improve safety for this elderly person? What happens if there’s a fire in the house? What if that senior is at home alone and does not remember where the key is? He or she could become trapped and that would also quickly escalate into a life-threatening situation.

For these situations, even though they appear extreme on the surface, they do happen over and over again, every single year. Some people look to these options as reasonable solutions to more complicated problems, but they can create even more safety issues in the long run.

The best solution, therefore, is to seriously discuss the prospect of hiring home care support. If family members are not able to provide around-the-clock care for this senior diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia to keep them safe, then hiring a series of home care aides or other caregivers is the best alternative.

If wandering off is an issue, there are also home monitoring systems and devices that can be triggered when somebody opens a door, when they were walk away from their bed in the middle of the night, and if they don’t return in a reasonable amount of time. There are also GPS monitoring devices that can be worn on clothing, on the wrist like a watch, or on some other part of the body that can help emergency services track somebody down in the event they become lost.

Relying on home care support is still the best option when a senior is dealing with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia and safety is an issue.

IF YOU OR AN AGING LOVED ONE ARE CONSIDERING HOME CARE TO IMPROVE SENIOR HOME SAFETY IN WIND GAP, PA, PLEASE CONTACT THE CARING STAFF AT HOME HELPERS. CALL TODAY! (610) 365-4266.

Home Helpers of Northern Lehigh Valley is locally owned and operated by Vicki Crow and Brian Day. We have experience and knowledge of issues that seniors and their families face every day. Prior to owning Home Helpers, we had over 40 combined years of sales and business experience. We experienced firsthand the value of professional in-home care and our ownership of Home Helpers is our way of providing senior care services to families in the Northern Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas. We provide the same level of care and attention to detail that we would expect for our own family. We chose to get involved with non-medical home care based on personal experiences that both myself and my husband experienced with our grandparents.My grandmother lived alone and my father lived over 500 miles away, when she suffered a stroke she needed extra help around the house.My father and his brother were able to find a care giver that would come in and help around the house, provided companionship and above all else a safety net for my father and my uncle to know someone was checking in on Grandma.When Grandma suffered a second stroke, the caregiver found her and got her the help she needed. We know there are a lot of families like ours that need that peace of mind of knowing someone is helping a loved one when they can't be there.

Many Senior In-Home Care services and products are not covered by insurance, Medicare, Medicaid or public assistance. Most individuals and families often need to pay "out-of-pocket" for some or all services requested. Are there other sources of financing available to you, such as Social Security benefits, VA benefits, or Private Funds?*